Reports Of My Passing Are Greatly Exaggerated

A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that newspapers and magazines still are alive and kicking.  Magazines Team Up to Tout ‘Power of Print” describes a campaign by publishers to promote the value of  print magazines. “The Internet is fleeting. Magazines are immersive,” according to an ad to run in May issues of selected magazines.

Jann Wenner, the man behind the campaign, says that “just as TV didn’t kill magazines, the Internet was a threat only to publications that lost focus on what makes magazines unique. “In a certain way, this campaign is aimed at the magazine business itself.”

Magazine readership has actually been rising. Similarly newspapers are trying to get the word out that the readership of daily papers is up.

Michael Phelps is headlining the ads, so if you see his goggled face, check out the copy. It may surprise you.

New Magazines!

home-powerWhat’s cool about magazines is that they teach you how to do really useful and practical things, but in a painless and fun way. The Main Street  library has two new titles that do just that.

Food Network Magazine is chuck full of recipes: check out the best burger in each state with Bobby Flay (in Iowa it’s the Famous Garbage Burger in Ames), peruse the recipes for “50 Summer Drinks,” and plan a Father’s Day cookout.

Learn how to save energy by browsing through Home Power Magazine. Recent articles tell you how to buy a wind generator, smarter power strips, energy saving digital TV converter boxes and investing in solar electricity.

Where is my Favorite Magazine ?

magazinesHave you wondered where your favorite titles are going? So far this year, Cottage Living, Men’s Vogue, Smartphone, Home, and Cooking for Two, and Country Home are just some of the magazines that have or will soon stop publishing.  Others are available only on the news stand (you can’t subscribe), like Country Weekly and Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, and some, like PC Magazine, are going online only.

Seeing them disappear is like losing old friends. What is more pleasurable than sinking into a new world, with each new issue, whether it’s gadgets, gardening, home decor, jewelry, or weight lifting? The advantage that print magazines have  over newspapers or their online counterparts is  that people devote more time to them and view them as entertainment – even the ads – which is good for the bottom line.

For the time-pressed, magazine articles can supply streamlined summaries of big issues, (often in a more readable style than bloated books).

Let’s hope that magazine guru Samir Husni is right and that new magazines will continue to be launched – so as  to replace those that have died. He says  those that are “service oriented – whether it’s about health, home or cooking” will be most viable.

It takes an optimistic and courageous soul to  keep swinging in the volatile game of magazine publishing.

Cabin Fever?

blizzardSome ideas to occupy the long winter days and nights in your cabin:

Lasting Moments is a new scrapbooking magazine. Leaf through pages on making bracelet party favors, ideas for Valentine’s Day and how to organize your photos and tools.

Other scrapbooking and craft magazines are Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Crafts ‘n Things, Quilter’s Newsletter, Bead Style and more.

(you don’t have to do anything; you can just look at the pictures!)

Frugal Librarian #3: Shopsmart Magazine

frugallibrarianThis brand new bi-monthly publication from the makers of Consumer Reports magazine has the slogan “no hype, no ads, just great buys.” It looks like the result of a crossbreeding between Consumer Reports, Good Housekeeping, and Hints from Heloise.

For example, there are a lot of luxury items out there where name and branding is everything, since the average John Q. Spender knows nothing about the product and there is ridiculous markup.

shopsmart

When it came to wine, Consumer Reports put their best experts in the lab and tore off the labels. The results is one of the test’s white wine winners costing $5…the Frontrera 2007 from Chile.

Some products also claimed to be bargains or money savers and were junk. Enjoy a list of products to avoid.

Here’s a no-brainer on how to get it…check the latest issue out for free from the Davenport Public Library!

Mental Floss Magazine

mental-floss.jpgA fairly recent addition to the Fairmount Library’s magazine collection, Mental Floss is

…an intelligent read, but not too intelligent. We’re the sort of intelligent that you hang out with for a while, enjoy our company, laugh a little, smile a lot and then we part ways. Great times. And you only realize how much you learned from us after a little while…

Recent articles:

  • “3 Extreme Ways to Go Green”
  • “Actually, It IS Rocket Science: NASA’s Brilliant, Far-Out History”
  • “Waropoly: How History’s Most Popular Board Game Helped Defend the Free World”
  • “10 Songs that Changed the World”

Remember, you can check out magazines from the library, including the current issue, for one week.